How to find the best clothing supplier?
Considering the popularity of fashion clothing nowadays it is entirely understandable why more and more people would like to start a fashion business. Many people dream to open a fashion clothing store near home, so they can dressing up and sell their fashion designs to earn profit.
Selling clothes can be quite a successful business if you have a good clothing supplier and good designs. With the fast internet communication, It’s easy to launch your online clothing line. But running a clothing store is not that easy, there are many things need to consider. At the end you may find that is not such profitable business.
At the beginning, where to get the designs? Buy items already made at wholesale price and retail? Or custom own clothing brand with unique design?
This is depending on the quantity you can sell, there are pros and cons.
Custom clothing
Pros: Unique design, color, fabric and right fitting, high margin. label with your own clothing brand, easy marketing, good for custom label.
Cons: garment manufacturers set up a minimum order quantity (MOQ), usually 100 pc per color per design, less design and color within budget. Long time on production
Stock designs available in wholesale market
Pros: More design and color options, cheap, fast, easy, no need to think about design and fabric, good for small boutiques and online store owners.
Cons: same designs everywhere, low profit. may out of stock after you sell.
Find clothing manufacturers is the most important thing, Where and how to find the best clothing manufacturers?
There are thousands of clothing manufacturers all over the world, But we know it is still difficult to find right clothing manufacturers for your own clothing line.
Domestic clothing manufacturers OR Overseas clothing manufacturers?
which one should i work with? Is that better to make garments with domestic manufacturers? Let me list the advantages and disadvantages below:
Domestic clothing manufacturers
Advantages: Same time zone and holiday time, easy communicate, Low MOQ, No import duty and tax, less shipping cost and time, can easily visit garment factory and control production process,
Disadvantages: higher cost on production, less choice for fabrics, accessories and manufacturing services, not have full range supply chain, only manufacture generic products, still need import from other countries.
Overseas clothing manufacturers
Advantages: cheap production cost, many clothing manufacturing companies easy to find potential suppliers, full supply chain partners,
Disadvantages: Higher MOQ, poor language communicate, different time zone slow reply, more shipping cost and time on deliver, import duty and tariffs, need brokers, handle paper work, know international trade, takes more time to build trust, costly to start clothing business journey.
Where to find clothing manufacturers?
I have list 6 ways to find clothing manufacturers mostly use at the moment.
1. Participate in textile and clothing exhibitions, there are many International Home Textile Trade Fair, specially attending local events, It is easy to find the source of clothing manufacturer at the exhibition.
2. Recommended by friends engaged in clothing industry. They have been engaged in the fashion industry for many years and have known many reputable manufacturers. Among them, you can choose a good clothing company easily.
3. Go to local wholesale markets. there are many apparel manufacturers have their stores in wholesale markets, you can see the category(women’s clothing, children’s clothing, men’s clothing) they are making and value quality and price. Well, in China, we have quite a lot Clothing wholesale markets, i have list in another article, you can click here if interested.
4. Search online directories and yellow page. There are many great clothing manufacturers list online, contact with them OR just call.
5. Online B2B(business to business) platform, it is considered the easiest and safest way. No matter where you are, you can easily contact the apparel manufacturer with one click. No need to attend international trade shows or spend time visiting factories.
The top 8 B2B platform as:
A. Alibaba
Alibaba is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in e-commerce, retail, Internet, and technology. They provide consumer-to-consumer (C2C), business-to-consumer (B2C), and business-to-business (B2B) sales services via web portals. It’s the largest and mostly use in the world. You can find any category with big and small wholesalers and manufacturers.
Global Sources is a Hong Kong-based business-to-business (B2B) multichannel media company that serves buyers and suppliers online and offline since 1971. Its core business facilitates trade between suppliers and buyers, through trade shows, online marketplaces, the management magazine Chief Executive China, apps and other virtual products. Help buyers find the right clothing manufacturer through customized sourcing solutions. Connect with comprehensive list of Verified Wholesale apparel Manufacturers & Suppliers.
Global Sources organizes many professional sourcing fairs in Hong Kong every year in response to the development of Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. These includes the world ‘s largest electronic product sourcing fair – Global Sources Electronics, Indonesia which connects China with Southeast Asia market under the “Belt and Road Initiative”. Global Sources is also a majority shareholder in Shenzhen International Machinery Manufacturing Industry Exhibition (SIMM), the leading machinery exhibitions in Southern China, and its related shows.
Founded in 1996, Made-in-China.com is leading comprehensive third party B2B e-commerce platform in China.
D. HKTDC
The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body established in 1966 as the international B2B Sourcing Online Platform to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. –
E. DHgate
Small order and drop shipping online wholesale platform, affordable price and low MOQ. Suitable for small and medium size apparel companies.
F. Aliexpress
Sellers on AliExpress can be either companies or individuals. It’s an online retail service based in China, AliExpress is often used by e-commerce stores that use a drop-ship business model.
G. IndiaMart
IndiaMart is India’s largest B2B trading platform. Most of the supplier from India.
H. TradeKey
Tradekey is a b2b e-commerce website. Widely use in middle east.
6. Search engine sourcing(google, bing, yandex ect.)
Type your key words “clothing manufacturers” in search bar, check them and choose a few potential clothing manufacturers in your list, contact with them no need to decide at once.
If you are in fast fashion industry, please pay more attention to delivery time and price. Take fast turn around time to highlight supply chain partners. As everybody known that garments have Seasonal and trends, so a successful clothing business must be timely delivery.
Do not go to the cheapest manufacturing services, you get what you pay for.
Even though from first glace look similar, the quality on inside stitching and fabric of garments is not same, after you made the sales, you may come with problems on after-sales. When you offer people quality clothing and attractive design, you know for sure they will come back next week or next month, and also that they will recommend you to their friends, coworkers, and family members. And in this business, the word of mouth marketing is probably the most effective. Creating a buzz about the quality of the clothes you sell is guaranteed to help you reach success quickly.
When we are talking about someone who wants to start a fashion business online, our primary advice is to make sure you have a coherent business plan even before doing anything else. The fashion clothing supplier list should come before starting your website or employing other people. As we have mentioned before, sometimes it can take a bit of time to find the right clothing supplier, especially if you are new in the fashion business.
Questions to ask the clothing manufacturers before start:
– What are my responsibilities as a fashion buyer? How can we finalize the design? Do you need physical sample and detail tech pack. Should i send you fabric and size measurement? It is important to know what exactly you need to do before engaging in a commercial relationship.
– What are your responsibilities as a clothing manufacturer? Will the apparel manufacturer source the fabrics, make pattern and grade size, cut and sew and deliver the final product to the warehouse? Knowing what to expect from your business partner is essential.
– Do you need sample? How much is the sample charge? Will this refund on production, How long is sample lead time? Know the cost before production process.
– Who will take care of the shipping and delivery? What delivery option do they have? For domestic manufacturers is much easier, because no need to handle with import and broker. For overseas clothing manufacturers need to know terms: EXW, FOB, DDU, DDP, CIF ect.
– How long will it take for the production and shipping? At this point, we are discussing the time frame on manufacturing. After confirm designs and pay deposit, Manufacture clothing company make sure the delivery plan is accepted by the client.
Clothing manufacturing process:
– Finger out the design or idea. Most custom clothing manufacturers can work with fashion designers drawings, pictures, photographs, sketches, tech pack or physical garment sample, it is entirely up to you what you can provide.
– Custom clothing manufacturer will evaluate them and source the fabrics good for the design, you can pick up one of them.
– Clothing manufacturer will move to make pattern base on size measurement, usually use a software in computer then print out.
– Buy the sample fabric and cut into pieces, then sample maker sew and iron, a sample is ready. If you are good with the sample and price, then can move to bulk production directly. If any comments on fitting OR need change fabric will back to start making sample again. Once agree on the fabrics and fittings, only after confirmed the samples then the production start.
– Pattern maker need to grade size for production, count the bulk fabrics, accessories, trims, purchasing department buy and stock them in garment factory, before cutting, they need to do quality checking on them, if they have quality issue will replace new until they passed the quality inspection.
– Then cut and sew according to the order requirements, after quality checking, then pack and delivery. You can hire third party to do quality checking, also can ask the clothing manufactures to send you some samples from bulk, also can ask them send video of quality checking.
– Due to your delivery terms, handle the shipping, then closed the order.
As you can see the workflow is easy to understand and follow, everybody knows exactly what needs to be done and when, so there will be no wasting time and no delays due to the lack of transparency in the process.
The best clothing supplier will always help you with suggestions and recommendations, even if it is not related to their responsibility, even you don’t buy from them. They want to gain clients through profession and stable and long term business relationship.
For overseas clothing manufacturer, Is it required for the clothing buyer to come factory to visit?
Many people think that if they found overseas clothing manufacturer online, they have to go there to see and talk to the company representatives in person and also visit the clothing factories. Due to the Covid from 2020, it is not really necessary to take a trip to check the best clothing supplier in person. It is cost too much on air flight and hotel, some countries have very limited access to foreigner.
How do you know you have found the best clothing supplier:
– The company has many years of experience in clothing industry.
– What other manufacturing partner say? You can find online reviews or testimonials from past clients that give the company positive feedback, and they recommend it.
– The price estimate is clear, and you know exactly what and when you will have to pay. The payment method is simple and secure.
– The time frame is according to your needs, and they can promise that.
– The fashion manufacturer showed interest in helping you with suggestions about improving the workflow and design.
– Quantity, quality and affordable price, you know well what they can delivery.
– You are comfortable with the terms of the business agreement you are going to sign.
How to find the best clothing supplier:
tips and tricks
Sometimes it can be a struggle to find the right clothing vendor for your needs, especially if you have special requirements. Our recommendation is to check out these tips and tricks and test your clothing manufacturer before starting a commercial contract with him.
- Order samples. If you need a lot of products, you should be able to see the quality of the products before ordering thousands of them. Right clothing manufacturer should allow you to order a small batch of products to see, they will look the fabrics and other things before placing order. If they refuse to do small batches, then maybe it is not the right clothing manufacturer for you, should work with someone else instead. Keep in mind that there will be differences between the prices for the small batch and the big order. It is only natural that the prices for a small order to be higher per item than for a big order. Nevertheless, it will allow you to check the quality of the work and fabrics and spare you some money in the long run.
- Make sure your manufacturer speaks English. While you would think that everybody in this business will speak impeccable English, it will not be hard to spot right out if the representative of your clothing company can speak proper English. It is important to be able to get along with your business partner in terms of communication because due to the lack of understanding costly mistakes can be made.
- Communicate before engaging. How long does it take to answer to your emails? If you have to wait for a couple of days, and you do not even have a business agreement with him, it’s not a good choice. The company should have dedicated people to answer emails and phone calls promptly so the clients will not feel neglected.
- Secure payment method. With Internet and credit card fraud being so high these days, offers a safe payment method so you will not have to worry about anything.
If you will read carefully and consider all the suggestions and recommendations we have made in this article, it should be easy for you to find and select the best clothing manufacturer to cater for your needs and demands. Searching online for a clothing supplier in China can take at least a couple of days before narrowing down your results if you will make sure to follow all the steps and the verification process, but it will give you some peace of mind for the future.
One last piece of advice for the client looking for a clothing manufacturer in China: as you will not be able to be present and inspect the products yourself, always choose a company that provides third-party inspections. This way you can rest assured that the products are of the high quality you requested without you having to move a finger. A company that has the financial abilities to cater for big clients will not have a problem in providing this kind of service.
Imily clothing help domestic and overseas clothing brands set up their own clothing business.
As custom clothing manufacturers located in China, we set up a very low minimum order quantity for startup brands. Our clients include: fashion designers, clothing store owners, high end fashion labels, apparel wholesalers and distributors, private labels.
Our team has over 10 years experience in clothing industry, helping fashion designer custom fashion clothing. Beside cut and sew manufacturers, we offer tech pack and clothing development. we like to add value.
If you decide to start a business relationship with Imilyclothing, we can tell you exactly what the steps of the collaboration will be, straight from the beginning. We believe it is important to know what to expect from your business partner when working with overseas suppliers, so transparency and communication are valued factors for us.
We believe in making things easier for our clients and that our job is to perform to the best of our abilities so that our customers and their clients to be happy and well dressed in affordable fashion clothing items.